View the archive of our 90-minute class and discover the Five Things We’ve Learned about the essential roles that rage and anger play in public life – and in our principled responses to all forms of social injustice.
Hi, I’m Nick Buccola, the author of The Fire Is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America. I am thrilled to be hosting a series of four personal conversations with leading writers about their experience of the power of the written word.
Acclaimed writer and teacher Myisha Cherry will join me for the fourth session in this series for a discussion of Five Things I’ve Learned about the Social Uses of Anger. I first got to know Myisha through her work on the philosophy of emotions. Myisha is my kind of philosopher; she thinks clearly and deeply about ideas that can help us make sense of how we ought to live. Her thinking on anger, for example, culminated in her acclaimed recent book, The Case for Rage. In the book, Myisha argues that we too often have an oversimplified understanding of how anger can manifest itself in our social and political lives. We are often taught the anger is “bad” or “unproductive.” But Myisha shows this is not always the case. Indeed, sometimes anger is not only an appropriate response to a social or political situation, but it can even be a necessary and morally praiseworthy response.
Myisha is a perfect fit for this series of classes on the power of the written word because she has devoted her life as a teacher and a scholar to thinking in slow motion about ideas that matter and sharing her thinking with the public. Myisha is committed to the idea that philosophy ought to extend beyond the walls of the academy, to the broader culture. Through her writing, teaching, and celebrated Unmuted podcast, Myisha is changing the world, one idea at a time.
There is always so much wisdom to be gained in the presence of Myisha Cherry. Please join us for what I know will be a great class.
Myisha Cherry is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. Her research interest lies at the intersection of moral psychology and social and political philosophy. More specifically she is interested in the role of emotions and attitudes in public life.
Cherry’s books include ‘The Moral Psychology of Anger‘ co-edited with Owen Flanagan (Rowman and Littlefield, 2018) and “Unmuted: Conversations on Prejudice, Oppression, and Social Justice (Oxford University Press, 2019). Her recent book, The Case for Rage: Why Anger is Essential to Anti-Racist Struggle (Oxford University Press: 2021) makes a case for anger at racial injustice. It was recently featured in the New Yorker and The Atlantic. It has received a starred review from Publishers’ Weekly. And according to Kirkus Reviews, it is “a well-reasoned case for not holding one’s tongue in the presence of injustice.” After a 10-way auction, Princeton University Press won North American rights to her book “The Failures of Forgiveness.” It is slated for a Spring 2023 release. Cherry has also written about emotions and race in such journals as Hypatia, Radical Philosophy Review, and Critical Philosophy of Race.
In addition to her academic work, she has written publicly about political emotions, race, and justice for the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Salon, The Boston Review, New Philosopher, WomanKind, and the Huffington Post. She has contributed essays to three volumes of Open Court’s Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, exploring themes such as manipulation, white privilege, and community and police relations. Cherry is also the host of the UnMute Podcast, a podcast where she interviews philosophers about the social and political issues of our day. The podcast was recently featured in The Philosopher’s Magazine.
You and a guest could win two tickets to the class of your choice.